The Weekend Magazine

Weekend

Publications for an informed Audience and World!

Business and Finance

The Heart of the Matter Britain's Decline

With the recent coverage and announcements from the Government and
the
Office of National Statistics. You could think that all these new
reports, of economic bad news, is a completely new revelation and has
come out of the blue.

Sadly, now in the fifth year since 2008, when we witnessed the banking
collapse, the tea leaves did spell out the paths to take and what the
future held.

In the artificial World of the Stock markets, hedge fund managers,
speculators, economists and bankers, they were making comments such as,
"we have now hit the bottom" and "the recovery will be quick with great
opportunity", remember some of those words.

So was the recovery quick and was there plenty of opportunity, for if
it did happen, I missed it, along with another 7 billion other folk on
the planet.

The reality is, there are more new emerging economies in manufacture,
with far lower wage labour forces, or dynamic automation. So for
Western society as a producer, they are already at a significant
disadvantage.

There is also a question of demand, as more folk have to cut back due
to increased uncertainty and financial hardship, they will have less
consumer spending power. Coupled with the increase in essential
products such as food and energy, the future does not bode well, just
based on these facts.

So what is the real harsh reality in business today, in a Western
Society. Whether you are in business, or thinking about setting up a
business. There are many factors against you straight away and it
relates to greed.

All of the most successful emerging economies, have been supported by
their Governments. Japan was a prime example of the past and today
China and Brazil. China supports enterprise to such a scale, that they
develop and literally build Cities for manufacturing. Where industry
can set up in earnest, to supply a global economy.

Where as in the United Kingdom, whether in retail, or manufacturing,
you have to obtain premises through private rented landlords and from
the outset here, the prices are completely out of tune with a new and
emerging real economy. The Commercial Estate Agents, whilst now
becoming slightly more flexible, have been a party to the problem, by
singing sweet nothings, in the ears of their clients.

The next problem is Local Government, where the mindset of Councils
today appear to be on a mission to drive down and make any business a
vessel to exploit, with a series of services and charges and then the
commercial rates, that is in most cases today, resemble the equivalent
of the annual rent paid to the private landlord.

Next is the utilities, where they continue to hike charges, as they
have failed to invest for countless years and now the customer, is
expected to not only pay for the fuel, but bank roll future power
stations and plants.

Next is the banks, they no longer deal with clients face to face, or
have the capacity to take a personal interest in the community, or your
business to create employment. Today, you are an underwriting exercise
on a computer. So to invest properly to make your business a success,
you have very little chance of getting adequate funding, only a token
amount will be lent and so you will struggle from the outset and be set
on a path of doom and failure before you even start. The good old bank
will also hit you with every conceivable charge imaginable.

These are problems every business new and existing are confronted with
today. Communities are becoming desolate and the bite will continue, as
a result of greed and short term thinking. Eventually and why I do not
understand, these people do not have the capacity to think beyond their
nose. The Commercial Agent will eventually close, the private landlord
from being vacant will eventually default on the commercial mortgage.
The Council will have to cut jobs, as the community contracts, the bank
staff will be cut, as the customer base declines and customers go into
debt as local people loose their jobs.

From wanting to do what is right in a community and to create
employment opportunity, you are persecuted from greed and self interest
from the outset. We have not even covered accountants, or professional
legal services.

The problems above are before you make a single item, where you need
materials, vehicles, staff and then you have to pay tax, rightly so and
then hiked up VAT. To believe you can be competitive in such an
environment. When confronted with these stark realities, you could only
be convinced, or gain inspiration from J. M. Barrie. Unless you are
already Peter Pan.

Britain will continue to decline, Corporate business will continue to
be sold and become foreign owned, until in the end it will possibly be
economic and social collapse, before we can start again.